The chemical history of carbon is traced from its origin in stellar nucleosynthesis to its delivery to planet surfaces. The molecular carriers of this element are examined at each stage in the cycling of interstellar organic material and their eventual incorporation into solar system bodies. The connection between the various interstellar carbon reservoirs is also examined. Carbon has two stellar sources: supernova explosions and mass loss from evolved stars. In the latter case, the carbon is dredged up from the interior and then ejected into a circumstellar envelope, where a rich and unusual C-based chemistry occurs. This molecular material is eventually released into the general interstellar medium through planetary nebulae. It is first incorporated into diffuse clouds, where carbon is found in polyatomic molecules such as H2CO, HCN, HNC, c-C3H2, and even C-60(+). These objects then collapse into dense clouds, the sites of star and planet formation. Such clouds foster an active organic chemistry, producing compounds with a wide range of functional groups with both gas-phase and surface mechanisms. As stars and planets form, the chemical composition is altered by increasing stellar radiation, as well as possibly by reactions in the presolar nebula. Some molecular, carbon-rich material remains pristine, however, encapsulated in comets, meteorites, and interplanetary dust particles, and is delivered to planet surfaces.

Here, we describe the third major release of RELION. CPU-based vector acceleration has been added in addition to GPU support, which provides flexibility in use of resources and avoids memory limitations. Reference-free autopicking with Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtering and execution of jobs from python allows non-interactive processing during acquisition, including 2D-classification, de novo model generation and 3D-classification. Per-particle refinement of CTF parameters and correction of estimated beam tilt provides higher resolution reconstructions when particles are at different heights in the ice, and/or coma-free alignment has not been optimal. Ewald sphere curvature correction improves resolution for large particles. We illustrate these developments with publicly available data sets: together with a Bayesian approach to beam-induced motion correction it leads to resolution improvements of 0.2-0.7 angstrom compared to previous RELION versions.

Here, we describe the third major release of RELION. CPU-based vector acceleration has been added in addition to GPU support, which provides flexibility in use of resources and avoids memory limitations. Reference-free autopicking with Laplacian-of-Gaussian filtering and execution of jobs from python allows non-interactive processing during acquisition, including 2D-classification, de novo model generation and 3D-classification. Per-particle refinement of CTF parameters and correction of estimated beam tilt provides higher resolution reconstructions when particles are at different heights in the ice, and/or coma-free alignment has not been optimal. Ewald sphere curvature correction improves resolution for large particles. We illustrate these developments with publicly available data sets: together with a Bayesian approach to beam-induced motion correction it leads to resolution improvements of 0.2-0.7 angstrom compared to previous RELION versions.

Termen användarmedverkan har funnits och arbetats med sedan 1960 talet.Användarmedverkan innebär att utvecklare och användare arbetar tillsammans för att ta framen så bra programvara som möjligt, där syftet är att man vill förenkla användarnas dagligaarbete (Preece et al, 2002). Denna rapport är en fallstudie som genomförts på ett fallföretaginom bemanningsbranschen, där implementering av ett nytt tidrapporteringssystem skett.Implementeringen upplevs ha lett till ett outtalat motstånd ifrån användarna av systemet.Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur implementeringen utav ett nytttidsrapporteringssystem mottagits av fallföretagets anställda konsulter, genom att belysa huranvändarmedverkan påverkat förändringsarbetet och vilka faktorer som bidragit till attanvändarna ställt sig negativa till förändringen i form av ett motstånd. Med erfarenheterdärifrån presentera förbättringsförslag inför kommande förändringsarbeten. Tidigare forskningvisar likmässiga genomförda studier inom stora organisationer, fast med inriktning på olikaförändringsarbeten och IT-system samt med fokus på högt uppskattade befattningar. Det nämnsäven i tidigare forskning att likmässiga studier bör genomföras för att stärka forskningen omså är möjligt. Det ansågs därför intressant att studera området utifrån ett annat perspektiv, inombemanningsbranschen med fokus på anställda konsulter.Teorier som användes för att uppnå syftet med studien var förändring i organisationer,kommunikationsplan, change management, technological acceptence model ochanvändarbarhet. Teorierna har använts som stöd i rapporten för att förklara och upplysarespektive problem som uppkommit utav implementeringen och påverkat de anställdakonsulternas användarmedverkan.Resultatet visade vara ett missnöje ifrån de anställda konsulternas perspektiv mot det nyasystemet, med många för och nackdelar som rörde hela förändringsarbetet på fallföretaget.Studien bidrog till framtagandet av olika betydelsefulla faktorer inom användarmedverkan sompåverkat implementeringen negativt. När resultatet ställdes mot forskningsfrågan och teorinvisade det sig att de upplevda faktorerna gick i linje med teorin.Genom att utvecklare och användare integrerar vid ett förändringsarbete, kan alla faktorer ochindivider involveras i projektet för att undvika missnöjet. Därmed skulle en implementeringkunna lyckas.

Study region: Karkheh and Karun basins (29°−35°N, 46°−52°E) are two large river basins (area 51,000 and 67,000 km², respectively) with complex topography in southwest Iran.

Study focus: Access to spatio-temporally consistent precipitation data is a key requirement for hydrological studies, especially in data-scarce regions. This study evaluated 14 global precipitation products against gauge observations from 2003 to 2012 in Karun and Karkheh basins, southwest Iran. Different categorical and statistical indices at varying spatial and temporal resolution, including Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE), bias, correlation coefficient, and variability ratio, were used to evaluate the products.

New hydrological insights for the region: For daily time steps, TMPA-3B42V7.0, MERRA-2, and CMORPH-BLDV1.0 outperformed all other products, with KGE > 0.3. TMPA-3B42V7.0, MERRA-2, and PERSIANN-CDR were the best-performing products for monthly time steps, with KGE> 0.5. ERA5-Land showed the highest positive bias (bias>1.5) compared with in-situ observations, particularly for mountainous southeastern parts of Karun basin. Overall, bias-adjusted products obtained by merging ground-based observations in the estimations outperformed the unadjusted versions. The spatial distribution of statistical error metrics indicated that almost all products showed their greatest uncertainties for mountainous regions due to complex precipitation processes in these regions. These results can contribute significantly to hydrological and water resources planning measures in the study region, including early flood warning systems, drought monitoring, and optimization of dam operation.

Phosphatic microfossils, such as conodonts and fish microremains (dermal scales) from the upper Silurian(Pridoli) of Lithuania have been studied for their oxygen isotope composition. The conodont colour alterationindex of the biogenic apatite did not exceed 1.5 reflecting only a minor thermal alteration. Conodontδ18Oapatite values range from 17.7 to 19.2‰ V-SMOW, with the average values around 18.3‰. Fossil apatite offish exoskeleton microremains from the same samples have lower δ18Oapatite values ranging from 15.2 to17.4‰ V-SMOW, with the average values around 16.3‰ V-SMOW. Palaeoseawater temperatures calculatedfrom conodont apatite δ18O range from 24.8–31.5 °C, those derived from fish δ18O give approximately 10 °Chigher temperatures ranging from 32.6 to 38.1 °C. The lower δ18Oapatite values of fish apatite and thus theunrealistic high palaeotemperatures are interpreted as a result of diagenetic alteration. A significant positiveshift in conodont apatite δ18O of +1.1‰ at the boundary between the Vievis and Lapės formations isobserved, coinciding with a major facies change. It is interpreted as a mid-Pridoli event within theOzarkodina eosteinhornensis Bizone, or the Ozarkodina remscheidensis Biozone reflecting a major coolingevent, which may have resulted in the formation of an ice sheet in high latitudes and a glacio-eustatic sealevelfall.

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease, frequently associated with hypertension and renal inflammation. ω-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in fish oil (FO) improve kidney function in animal models, but have inconsistent metabolic effects in humans. Oxylipin profiles in serum from IgAN patients supplemented with either FO or corn oil (CO) placebo were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. EPA cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase metabolites, and EPA and DHA epoxides and diols were increased in response to FO supplementation, as were total epoxides and epoxide/diol ratios. Several of these metabolites were drivers of separation as assessed by multivariate analysis of FO patients pre- vs. post-supplementation, including 17,18-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, prostaglandin D₃, prostagalandin E₃, Resolvin E1, 12-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid, and 10(11)-epoxydocosapentaenoic acid. In patients whose proteinuria improved, plasma total oxylipins as well as several hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids, and leukotriene B₄ metabolites were among the metabolites that were significantly lower than in patients whose proteinuria either did not improve or worsened. These data support the involvement of oxylipins in the inflammatory component of IgAN as well as the potential use of oxylipin profiles as biomarkers and for assessing responsiveness to ω-3 fatty acid supplementation in IgAN patients.

The Sagnac effect is an important phase coherent effect in optical and atom interferometers where rotations of the interferometer with respect to an inertial reference frame result in a shift in the interference pattern proportional to the rotation rate. Here, we analyze the Sagnac effect in a mesoscopic semiconductor electron interferometer. We include in our analysis the Rashba spin-orbit interactions in the ring. Our results indicate that spin-orbit interactions increase the rotation-induced phase shift. We discuss the potential experimental observability of the Sagnac phase shift in such mesoscopic systems.

We investigate energy fluxes and small, kilometre-scale Birkeland currents in the magnetospheric cusp at a 1-3 Earth radii altitude and in the ionosphere using satellites when they were, according to the Tsyganenko model, in magnetic conjunction within 50-60 km and up to 15 min apart. We use Cluster and CHAMP satellites, and study three conjunction events that occurred in 2008 and 2009, when the Cluster spacecraft were crossing the cusps at only a few Earth radii altitude. Our goal is to understand better the influence of processes in the magnetospheric cusp on the upper thermosphere and its upwelling which was usually observed by the CHAMP satellite passing the cusp. Three studied events occurred under relatively quiet and steady magnetospheric and ionospheric conditions, which explains why observed thermospheric density enhancements were rather low. Our findings point out that for each studied event soft electron precipitation influences thermospheric density enhancements in a way that stronger electron precipitation produces stronger thermospheric upwelling. Therefore, in the case of these weak events, soft electron precipitation seems to be more important cause of the observed, thermospheric density enhancements than is the Joule heating.

We apply a test for deterministic, low-dimensional, and nonlinear dynamics to the Nino 3 time series for the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The test is positive if the time series includes the seasonal variation, but negative if it only represents the anomaly, i.e., the deviation from the seasonal cycle. The results indicate that deterministic, low-dimensional, and nonlinear dynamics in ENSO is associated with the seasonal cycle, and that the dynamics determining the interannual timing and strength of El Nino/La Nina episodes is high-dimensional/stochastic. Application of stochastic forcing to a time-delay equation for equatorial-wave dynamics can reproduce stochastic dynamics and other important aspects of ENSO. Without such stochastic forcing, this model yields deterministic, low-dimensional dynamics. With stochastic forcing, our test still yields such dynamics if the seasonal cycle is retained, but does not if the annual cycle is subtracted before the test is applied. The model results illustrate that the seasonal variability can be governed by low-dimensional nonlinear dynamics, while the interannual variability associated with ENSO is dominated by the stochastic forcing.

The change in degree of organization of the magnetosphere during substorms is investigated by analyzing various geomagnetic indices, as well as interplanetary magnetic field z-component and solar wind velocity x-component. We conclude that the magnetosphere self-organizes globally during substorms, but neither the magnetosphere nor the solar wind become more predictable in the course of a substorm. This conclusion is based on analysis of substorms in the period from 2000 to 2002. A minimal dynamic-stochastic model of the driven magnetosphere that reproduces many statistical features of substorm indices is discussed.

An annotated data set is presented meant to help researchers in developing, evaluating, and comparing various approaches in robotics for building space representations appropriate for communicating with humans. The data consist of omnidirectional images, laser range scans, sonar readings, and robot odometry. A set of base-level human spatial concepts is used to annotate the data.

Traditionally, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is used as an appendix in IT Service Management agreements to set expectations and delineate the service delivery description as well as the terms and conditions of delivery. However, SLAs are unable to imply and guarantee the added values expected by the customer. Service Value Agreement (SVA) is a newly developed framework that identifies the deliverable added values along with metrics to measure the quality and quantity of achievements in terms of business added values. The objective of this study is to expand the concept of SVA for Application Management (AM) services and suggest guidelines for its implementation in real business cases. This goal is fulfilled through the case study approach and outsourcing industry contributions. Authors suggest discussing the concept of SVA from early stages of the sales lifecycle and implementing it gradually during the steady state phase. Combination of Service Value Mapping approach and Piloting method is suggested for SVA proposition as an option with successful practical history.

Traditionally, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) including service level metrics is used as an appendix in IT Service Management agreements to define the terms and conditions of delivery and set expectations. However, SLA neither implies nor guarantees the added values that are expected by the customer. Besides, due to the nature of IT services, there always exists uncertainty about the agreed services due to which the perceived risk for both customer and provider is high. Moreover, the quality and quantity of delivered values are mostly hidden by hazy marketing slogans. In order to guarantee the values of an offered service, the deliverable added values should be characterized properly, quantified by means of measurable metrics, and agreed upon between the two parties. Such comprehensive material, including the deliverable added values along with their measurable metrics, is called Service Value Agreement (SVA). This research proposes a platform for IT service offerings based on added values by identifying, as well as quantifying, an organization’s objectives in purchasing Application Management (AM) services from a provider firm.

The introduction of social media platforms influenced the social dynamics by changing the way individuals are exposed to information. The straightforwardness of social media communication resulted in an overwhelming amount of information for users, and the variety of sources of the information is limiting users’ ability to assess what information is genuine and what is disinformation. Exploiting this shift in societal functioning, conspiracy theories have taken advantage of social media's reach to undermine the foundations of societies. One such theory, QAnon, which revolves around a fantastical narrative of a ruling satanic cabal exploiting children, has transitioned from the obscure corners of cyberspace to become a topic of mainstream media, courtesy of social media algorithms, journalistic interest, and opportunistic politicians.

The impact of the QAnon discourse resulted in violent acts for some of the followers, culminating in the U.S. Capitol storming. This act provoked immense ban activity by major social media networks. With the passage of time, interest in QAnon has waned considerably. Thus, through a survey and thematic and content analysis, this research aims to assess and answer the following research questions: Where are QAnon conspiracy theory groups present in social media networks? and What are the main discussion themes and conspiracy theory targets? two years after the “storm“ incident.

Gab, Telegram and Rumble are the social media platforms that have the most QAnon followers and discussions. An analysis confirmed that the discourse mainly concentrates around politics and conspiracy theories, with Donald Trump being the individual whose activities occupy the attention of most of the discussion topics. Calls for violence are rare, mostly in the form of predicting military coups or military courts, the QAnon followers’ narrative that has already been seen. In the case of QAnon, disinformation remains an attack vector in cyber warfare which underscores the need for further analysis into the development and influence the theory has towards upcoming major political events.

Aim: Geo-referenced species occurrence records are a prime example of biodiversity data and a cornerstone of biodiversity research. Yet, their availability depends on non-biological factors, including the political framework in the region of collection. Here we present Bio-Dem (www.bio-dem.surge.sh), an open-source software to explore the relationship between the availability of species occurrence records and the political framework in countries worldwide and through time.

Location: Global.

Taxon: Any.

Methods: Bio-Dem accesses the number of occurrence records available from countries worldwide from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (www.gbif.org) and socio-political information from these countries from the Varieties of Democracy database (www.v-dem.net) as well as information on colonial history from the Issue Correlates of War Project.

Results: Bio-Dem is available as a free graphical user interface web application at www.bio-dem.surge.sh. Through three interactive graphs, Bio-Dem enables users to explore the relationship between species occurrence records and countries’ regime type, freedom of movement, freedom of association, gross domestic product, education length, political corruption, armed conflict and colonial history. We describe possible links of these specific political indicators with the collection and mobilization of biodiversity data. Illustrative examples and video tutorials explaining the use of Bio-Dem are available at www.bio-dem.surge.sh.

Main conclusions: Bio-Dem provides a user-friendly way to explore the link between socio-political variables and the availability of species occurrence records in user-selected taxa and geographic regions, and to generate hypotheses on their connection. We envision Bio-Dem as a useful tool for teachers communicating the caveats of available biodiversity data, for biodiversity scientists exploring potential spatial and temporal bias in their data, and for social scientists exploring the impact of political systems on scientific data collection and biodiversity conservation.

Species occurrence records from online databases are an indispensable resource in ecological, biogeographical and palaeontological research. However, issues with data quality, especially incorrect geo-referencing or dating, can diminish their usefulness. Manual cleaning is time-consuming, error prone, difficult to reproduce and limited to known geographical areas and taxonomic groups, making it impractical for datasets with thousands or millions of records.

Here, we present CoordinateCleaner, an r-package to scan datasets of species occurrence records for geo-referencing and dating imprecisions and data entry errors in a standardized and reproducible way. CoordinateCleaner is tailored to problems common in biological and palaeontological databases and can handle datasets with millions of records. The software includes (a) functions to flag potentially problematic coordinate records based on geographical gazetteers, (b) a global database of 9,691 geo-referenced biodiversity institutions to identify records that are likely from horticulture or captivity, (c) novel algorithms to identify datasets with rasterized data, conversion errors and strong decimal rounding and (d) spatio-temporal tests for fossils.

We describe the individual functions available in CoordinateCleaner and demonstrate them on more than 90million occurrences of flowering plants from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and 19,000 fossil occurrences from the Palaeobiology Database (PBDB). We find that in GBIF more than 3.4 million records (3.7%) are potentially problematic and that 179 of the tested contributing datasets (18.5%) might be biased by rasterized coordinates. In PBDB, 1205 records (6.3%) are potentially problematic.

All cleaning functions and the biodiversity institution database are open-source and available within the CoordinateCleaner r-package.

Femtosecond time-gated fluorescence and nanosecond flash photolysis studies of seven complete, real titania nanoparticle solar cells sensitized with an efficient organic dye (TH305) were performed in order to investigate the role of the electrolyte composition on the charge transfer dynamics. The electron injection rate constants were found to range from 0.4 to 3.5 ps-1 in iodide-based electrolyte, and they well correlate with the shift of the conduction band edge potential of titania. The lithium cation additives resulted in 2 times faster electron injection rate constant (3.55 ps-1) with respect to that when larger sodium cations were used (1.86 ps-1). However, in the presence of a pyridine derivative component in the electrolyte solution, the electron injection rate constant decreased several times (0.38 ps-1 for Li+ and 0.54 ps-1 for Na+), while the electron injection efficiency was found to be still very high, 96-100%. The dye regeneration by the redox couple under relatively low fluence of excitation beam (0.4 mJ/cm2 giving about 4 electrons per titania nanoparticle) proceeds with an average rate constant of about 40 × 10 3 s-1 and efficiency close to 100%, independent of the electron composition. However, for a larger fluence (2 mJ/cm2) excitation, a titania-dye electron recombination process competes with the dye regeneration and lowers the solar cell efficiency. The effect of self-quenching, high vibrational levels of the dye excited state, and the neat solvent on the electron injection process are also discussed. This study clearly shows that for TH350-based DSSCs the best performance is obtained using Li+ and TBP as additives to the iodide electrolyte, giving the highest open circuit voltage and almost 100% efficiency of electron injection and dye regeneration.

In this paper, we present our process to establish a PICO and a sentiment annotated corpus of clinical trial publications. PICO stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome - these four classes can be used for more advanced and specific search queries. For example, a physician can determine how well a drug works only in the subgroup of children. Additionally to the PICO extraction, we conducted a sentiment annotation, where the sentiment refers to whether the conclusion of a trial was positive, negative or neutral. We created both corpora with the help of medical experts and non-experts as annotators.

The proteome of two newborn meningitis Escherichia coli K1 (NMEC) morphotypes was examined via a label-free proteomics approach. Besides shared NMEC virulence factors, the two strains have different evolutionary strategies-strain IHE3034 tends to perform anaerobic respiration continuously, while strain RS218 maintains its filamentous morphotype due to active SOS response.

Bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) are spherical extracellular organelles whose cargo is enclosed by a biological membrane. The cargo can be delivered to distant parts of a given habitat in a protected and concentrated manner. This review presents current knowledge about BMVs in the context of bacterial eco-evolutionary dynamics among different environments and hosts. BMVs may play an important role in establishing and stabilizing bacterial communities in such environments; for example, bacterial populations may benefit from BMVs to delay the negative effect of certain evolutionary trade-offs that can result in deleterious phenotypes. BMVs can also perform ecosystem engineering by serving as detergents, mediators in biochemical cycles, components of different biofilms, substrates for cross-feeding, defense systems against different dangers and enzyme-delivery mechanisms that can change substrate availability. BMVs further contribute to bacteria as mediators in different interactions, with either other bacterial species or their hosts. In short, BMVs extend and deliver phenotypic traits that can have ecological and evolutionary value to both their producers and the ecosystem as a whole.

Escherichia coli arbitrarily encompasses facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria with defined respiratory and fermentative types of metabolism. The species diversification has been further advanced by atypical strains whose features deviate from the essential species-specific morphological and metabolic cutoff. The morphological cutoff is exemplified by bacterial filamentation. E. coli filamentation has been studied from two different perspectives: the first considers filamentation as a result of adaptive strategies and response to stress, while the second is based on findings from the cell division of E. coli’s conditional mutants. Another cutoff is represented by E. coli’s inability to use citrate as a sole carbon and energy source. In this study, we compared two atypical E. coli strains that belong to the same neuroinvasive ecovar but exhibit either of the two phenotypes that deviate from the species’ features. While E. coli RS218 exists in the form of filaments incapable of growth on citrate, strain IHE3034 is represented as normal-sized bacteria able to ferment citrate under oxic conditions in the presence of glucose; in this paper, we show that these two phenotypes result from a bona fide trade-off. With the help of comparative proteomics and metabolomics, we discovered the proteome required for the upkeep of these phenotypes. The metabolic profiles of both strains reveal that under aerobic conditions, RS218 undergoes oxidative metabolism, while IHE3034 undergoes anaerobic respiration. Finally, we show that the use of citrate and filament formation are both linked in a trade-off occurring via a c-di-GMP-dependent phase variation event. IMPORTANCE Aerobic use of citrate and filamentous growth are arbitrary cutoffs for the Escherichia coli species. The strains that exhibit them as stable phenotypes are called atypical. In this study, we compare two atypical neuroinvasive E. coli strains, which alternatively display either of these phenotypes. We present the proteome and metabolome required for the maintenance of filamentous growth and show that anaerobic nitrate respiration is the main requirement for the use of citrate. The fact that the two phenotypes are differentially expressed by each strain prompted us to check if they are part of a trade-off. Indeed, these atypical characters are reversible and result from a c-di-GMP phase variation event. Thus, we revealed hidden links between stable morphological and metabolic phenotypes and provided information about alternative evolutionary pathways for the survival of E. coli strains in various host niches.

Globalization trends have affected many software organizations in the past years. They are turning towards global software development (GSD) market in search for quality with a lower price and shorter development times. It turns out that certain management methods used for in-house development are not applicable in GSD, often resulting in a failed project. It is believed that trust is one of the key factors for success or failure of such projects. In the first part, this thesis studies the causes of lacking or losing trust in globally distributed teams though a literature review and systematic review of current research. The second part of this thesis studies the practices which have been applied in industry to prevent or minimize the impact of trust related issues. Finally these practices are mapped to the identified issues, resulting in a set of recommendations for managers involved in GSD.

Centrohelid heliozoan Raphidocystis glabra was reisolated for the first time after initial description and put into a clonal culture. Its correct identification was confirmed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy of scales. The first light microscopy data from the living cells were obtained. Phylogenetic analysis of its position using 18S rDNA sequences was also performed. This species branches inside of the Polyplacocystis Glade, being closely related to the strain HLO4. The latter was isolated from the same sample with R. glabra and has spicules, not siliceous scales, unlike all the other members of this Glade. Using another strain isolated from this sample the co-specificity of HLO4 and R. glabra was demonstrated, and the presence of spicule-bearing stages in the life cycle of Raphidocystis was shown. Polyplacocystis revealed to be paraphyletic with Raphidocystis embedded in it. Moreover, representatives of both genera share the similar monolayered plate scales with hollow inflected margin. Thus, a family-level name Raphidocystidae for the whole Glade was proposed and all the Polyplacocystis species were transferred to Raphidocystis which name has a priority. The evolution of centrohelid coverings in the light of new findings was discussed, as well as the possible wide distribution of dimorphism in centrohelid life cycles. (C) 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Meringosphaera is an enigmatic marine protist without clear phylogenetic affiliation, but it has long been suggested to be a chrysophyte-related autotroph. Microscopy-based reports indicate that it has a worldwide distribution, but no sequence data exist so far. We obtained the first 18S rDNA sequence for M. mediterranea (identified using light and electron microscopy) from the west coast of Sweden. Observations of living cells revealed granulated axopodia and up to 6 globular photosynthesizing bodies about 2 mu m in diameter, the nature of which requires further investigation. The ultrastructure of barbed undulating spine scales and patternless plate scales with a central thickening is in agreement with previous reports. Molecular phylogenetic analysis placed M. mediterranea inside the NC5 environmental clade of Centroplasthelida (Haptista) along with additional environmental sequences, together closely related to Choanocystidae. This placement is supported by similar scales in Meringosphaera and Choanocystidae. We searched the Tara Oceans 18S V9 metabarcoding dataset, which revealed four OTUs with 94.8%-98.2% similarity, with oceanic distribution similar to that based on morphological observations. The current taxonomic position and species composition of the genus are discussed. The planktonic lifestyle of M. mediterranea contradicts the view of some authors that centrohelids enter the plankton only temporarily.

The pp --> pp pi(o) and pn --> pp pi(-) reactions have been measured at 310, 320 and 340 MeV using the CELSIUS proton beam and H-1 and H-2 internal cluster-jet targets. The pi(o) production at 310 MeV has been fully analyzed and a significant deviation fr

The angular distribution of neutral pions produced in the pp --> pp pi(0) reaction has been measured at a beam energy of 310 MeV. Significant deviations from isotropy are found, which increase for small excitation energies of the final proton-proton pair.

Proton-proton bremsstrahlung measurements have been made at 310 MeV by the WASA-PROMICE collaboration [1] at the CELSIUS storage ring. Detailed measurements of proton-proton coincidences in the forward direction yielded kinematically complete data mainly

It is shown that a spontaneously-broken gauge theory of the Lorentz group contains Ashtekar's chiral formulation of general relativity accompanied by dust. From this perspective, gravity is described entirely by a connection omega valued in the Lie algebra of the complexified Lorentz group and a Lorentz-charged scalar field tau. The model is 'pre-geometric' in the sense that the spacetime metric may be constructed only in the symmetry-broken regime. We speculate on the extent to which this dust may account for dark matter and on the behaviour of the theory in regimes where the symmetry is not broken.

High Entropy Alloys (HEA), where five or more elements are mixed together in near equiatomic ratios offer promising properties as hydrogen storage materials due to their ability to crystallize in simple cubic structures in the presence of large lattice strain originating from the different sizes of the atoms. In this work, the hydrogen absorption and desorption as well as the cycling properties of the TiZrNbHfTa HEA have been studied by in situ Synchrotron X-Ray diffraction, Pressure-Composition-Isotherm, Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The alloy crystallizes in a cubic bcc phase and undergoes a two-stage hydrogen absorption reaction to a fcc dihydride phase with an intermediate tetragonal monohydride, very similar to the V-H system. The hydrogen absorption/desorption in TiZrNbHfTa is completely reversible and the activation energy of desorption could be calculated. Furthermore, we have observed an interesting macrostructure following parallel planes after the formation of the dihydride phase, which is retained after desorption.

We have recently proposed a new method to design one-dimensional structures of MgH2 in the nano- and micrometer ranges by hydrogen-induced disproportionation of bulk Mg24Y5. The present study confirms the same behavior in hydrogenated Mg5Ga2 and Mg6Pd. Single-crystalline one-dimensional structures and microparticles of MgH2 are formed by hydrogen absorption and subsequent partial disproportionation of Mg5Ga2 and Mg6Pd. The MgH2 whiskers and particles grow with different morphologies for different alloying partners. Growth mechanisms are proposed in relation to the morphology and the chemical surface composition of original compounds.

Remarkable formation of one-dimensional single crystalline MgH2 structures in the nano- and micro-meters ranges is reported. These structures have been tailored by hydrogen absorption and subsequent disproportionation of bulk Mg24Y5. The MgH2 whiskers have been structurally and morphologically characterized by X-rays diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microcopies. A growth model is proposed for the early stage of the whiskers formation by combining surface chemical and morphological investigations. The formation of MgH2 whiskers opens new engineering explorations and challenges for further experimental and theoretical studies.

The catalytic effect of titanium on the hydrogen sorption properties of a Mg–Y–Ti alloy has been investigated. The alloy is formed by a majority phase Mg_24+xY₅, a minor phase of solid solution of Y in Mg and Ti clusters randomly dispersed in the sample. During the first hydrogen absorption cycle 5.6 wt.% hydrogen was absorbed at temperatures above 613 K. The alloy decomposed almost completely to MgH₂ and YH₃. After hydrogen desorption pure Mg and YH₂ were formed. For further absorption/desorption cycles the material had a reversible hydrogen capacity of 4.8 wt.%. The MgH₂ decomposition enthalpy was determined to −68 kJ/mol H₂, and the calculated activation energy of hydrogen desorption of MgH₂ was 150(±10) kJ/mol.

The current study focuses on the hydrogen desorption properties of hydrogenated Mg24Y5. Recently, we have reported the formation of unidirectional MgH2 structures by hydrogen absorption and induced disproportionation of Mg24Y5. During hydrogen desorption, a complex voiding phenomenon produces Mg tubes and carved particles with nano-sized walls. The selected area electron diffraction patterns demonstrate that the Mg tubes are single crystals. A harmonized picture of the unidirectional growth based on different Mg vapor models is proposed. The kinetic properties of hydrogen desorption are improved as compared with commercial MgH2. Hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycling lowers the thermal stability of the hydrogen desorption at the expense of the total desorbed hydrogen capacity. Both whiskers and microparticles are depleted into clusters of nanoparticles after extensive cyclin

Despite widespread recognition of the crucial role seabirds play in the fertilization of nutrient-poor polar terrestrial ecosystems, no studies have attempted a concurrent analysis of the entire or large proportion of an ornithogenically-supported food web. The aim of the current study was to assess the significance of allochthonous nutrient enrichment of key elements of the Bjornoya (Svalbard) terrestrial ecosystem by investigating how different seabird species influenced the characteristics of soil, vegetation, and soil invertebrates (direct ornithogenic effects), and also how those characteristics were interrelated (indirect ornithogenic effects). We sampled in the vicinity of a little auk (Alle alle) colony, and in areas occupied by great skua (Stercorarius skua) and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) nests. Our data demonstrate clear, multi-trophic-level, ornithogenic impacts across the terrestrial ecosystem, with most of the measured parameters of soil, vegetation and invertebrates being altered by proximity to bird nesting areas, though to varying degrees. The ornithogenic effects tended to weaken with increasing complexity of interactions between the ecosystem components, with progression through successive trophic levels. The clearest responses were observed for soil (higher nitrogen stable isotope ratio delta N-15, nitrogen and water content) and vegetation characteristics (higher delta N-15, N content and total cover, lower diversity and species number, and modified community composition). The responses seen in the invertebrate communities were less clear (community composition change), and were only apparent when major invertebrate groups were considered together and for the assumed decomposers: springtails and oribatid mites, while not in the case of predators (mesostigmatid mites and one spider species). There were also suggestions in the data that different seabird species may have different impacts on the surrounding environment, probably due to their different diet and nesting area topography. However, generally, the species of bird was a weaker factor than the presence of a seabird colony or nest itself.

Oligothymidylates modified with stereodefined 2-pyridyl-, 3-pyridyl- and 4-pyridylphosphonate moieties at one or two juxtaposed internucleotide positions were prepared, and their avidity towards complementary single stranded DNA and RNA, as well as toward double stranded DNA were evaluated by UV melting temperature and CD studies. It was found that the sense of chirality at the phosphorus centre and the position of the nitrogen atom in the pyridyl ring of a pyridylphosphonate moiety are important factors governing stability of double- and triple-stranded complexes formed by these oligonucleotides. DNA/DNA and DNA/RNA duplexes containing oligothymidylate strands with R-P-pyridylphosphonate units differed only slightly from unmodified reference complexes. In contrast to this, the S-P-pyridylphosphonate derivatives exhibited lower binding affinity than both their R-P-counterparts and the unmodified reference oligonucleotide T-20. Triplexes of oligo(thymidyl pyridylphosphonate)s with hairpin oligomer d(A(21)C(4)T(21)) were found mostly to be thermodynamically slightly more stable in pH 7.4 and less stable in pH 5.0 than non-modified complexes. As expected, oligonucleotides with pyridylphosphonate internucleotide bonds were recognised by 3'- and 5'-exonucleases but the chimeric oligonucleotide chains were not cleaved at the modi. cation sites.

Surface deposited layers of mesoporous silica particles could function as support for bio-sensing or drug release applications. It is crucial to control the surface deposition process and employ relevant techniques to characterize the properties of the particles on the surface. Here, we deposit SBA-15 particles on native silica or cationic surfaces and characterize the hydration and dehydration by employing a novel method based on humidity scanning quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (HS QCM-D). SBA-15 platelets are deposited with mesopores oriented parallel to the surface normal using drop deposition. SEM shows a monolayer on the surface, which is established as stable. Water sorption-desorption isotherms of the SBA-15 layer from HS QCM-D are compared with isotherms from water sorption calorimetry and nitrogen sorption on bulk material. We demonstrate that HS QCM-D provides results in good agreement with results obtained with the reference methods. The properties of SBA-15 particles are retained during the deposition process and unaffected by the presence of the surface. In addition, HS QCM-D is a fast technique that requires significantly lower amount of material (∼5000 times) compared to experiments on bulk material. HS QCM-D provides complete characterization of the pore size distribution of SBA-15.

One of the essential functions of mucous gel is protection of tissues against dehydration. The effect of hydration on the structural and thermodynamic properties of pig gastric mucin (PGM) and bovine submaxillary gland mucin (BSM) have been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), sorption, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The analysis of sorption isotherms shows the higher water sorption capacity of PGM compared to BSM at RH levels lower than about 78%. The value of the hydration enthalpy at zero water content at 25 °C for both biopolymers is about −20 kJ/mol. Glass transitions of BSM and PGM occur at RH levels between 60 and 70% for both mucins. AFM indicates the presence of a dumbbell structure as well as a fiber-like structure in PGM samples. The experimental volume of the dry dumbbell molecule obtained by AFM is 3140 ± 340 nm3. Using DSC data, the amount of nonfreezing water was calculated to be about 0.51 g/g of PGM. The phase diagram of PGM demonstrates two regions of different Tg: dependent and independent of hydration levels. In particular, at mucin concentrations from 0 to 67 wt %, the glass transition occurs at a constant temperature of about −15 °C. At higher concentrations of mucin, Tg is increasing with increasing mucin concentrations.

Hydration of films of pig gastric mucin was studied using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) equipped with a humidity module. As a prerequisite, the water adsorption isotherm of a clean silica surface was determined. Atomic force microscopy was used to characterize the changes occurring on the silica surface after repeated sorption/desorption and cleaning cycles. The water sorption isotherms of several hundreds of nanometers thick mucin films were obtained in QCM-D experiments using analysis of overtone behavior. The results show that the sorption isotherms are not dependent on the film thicknesses and are in good agreement with sorption calorimetric data on mucin in the bulk phase. Moreover, hydration-induced changes of rheological properties of mucin films were investigated using a model-free approach. The ratio of G′/G″ was evaluated as a function of relative humidity. The transition from solidlike behavior to liquidlike behavior was observed in the same humidity range as in sorption calorimetric experiments. Thus, ability of QCM-D to monitor glass transition in biopolymers was demonstrated.

The JmjC-containing lysine demethylase, KDM4D, demethylates di-and tri-methylation of histone H3 on lysine 9 (H3K9me3). How KDM4D is recruited to chromatin and recognizes its histone substrates remains unknown. Here, we show that KDM4D binds RNA independently of its demethylase activity. We mapped two non-canonical RNA binding domains: the first is within the N-terminal spanning amino acids 115 to 236, and the second is within the C-terminal spanning amino acids 348 to 523 of KDM4D. We also demonstrate that RNA interactions with KDM4D N-terminal region are critical for its association with chromatin and subsequently for demethylating H3K9me3 in cells. This study implicates, for the first time, RNA molecules in regulating the levels of H3K9 methylation by affecting KDM4D association with chromatin.

Regional patterns of present-day tectonic stress can be used to evaluate the forces acting on the lithosphere and to investigate intraplate seismicity. Most intraplate regions are characterized by a compressional stress regime; extension is limited almost entirely to thermally uplifted regions. In several plates the maximum horizontal stress is subparallel to the direction of absolute plate motion, suggesting that the forces driving the plates also dominate the stress distribution in the plate interior.

Detaljerad kunskap om hur länsstyrelserna i praktiken hanterar överlåtelse och återtagande av miljötillsyn enligt miljöbalken saknas idag och därför är det av yttersta vikt för såväl operativa som tillsynsvägledande myndigheter att kunskapsbasen ökar gällande denna fråga. Denna studie syftar därför till att (a) kvantitativt belysa omfattningen av länsstyrelsernas överlåtelse och återtagande av miljötillsyn till kommunala nämnder, samt (b) initiera en studie av de drivkrafter och överväganden som ligger bakom överlåtelse och återtagande av miljötillsyn. Studien som rapporten baseras på består huvudsakligen av två delstudier, dels en kartläggning av den dagsaktuella situationen i landet gällande överlåtande respektive återtagande av operativ tillsyn enligt miljöbalken och dels identifiering och analys av de avgörande drivkrafter och andra faktorer som gör att länsstyrelserna överlåter eller inte överlåter respektive återtar tillsyn samt de överväganden som länsstyrelserna gör. I den första delen har relevanta uppgifter samlats in från länsstyrelserna i form av förteckningar över tillsynsobjekt samt mer allmänna uppgifter kring vilken tillsyn som överlåtits respektive återtagits. Den andra delen har utgjorts av fallstudier som genomförts på två länsstyrelser som skiljer sig markant avseende graden av överlåtelse. Den mer kvantitativa kartläggning som genomförts tillsammans med de mer kvalitativa fallstudierna ger en relativt tydlig övergripande bild av situationen där landets länsstyrelser generellt är villiga att överlåta tillsyn inom samtliga tillsynsområden till kommunerna. Överlåtelse av tillsyn inom andra tillsynsområden än miljöfarlig verksamhet sker i relativt begränsad omfattning. Inom området miljöfarliga verksamheter råder den motsatta situationen. Här är överlåtelse av tillsynen den normala situationen inom stort sett samtliga branscher. Övergripande är tillsynen i nästan sju fall av tio överlåten till kommunal nämnd. De undantag från en hög överlåtelsegrad som kan identifieras kan förklaras med branschspecifika faktorer, företrädesvis omfattningen på verksamheternas miljöpåverkan. Variationerna gällande graden av överlåtelse är stor i landet, från en situation där omkring en tredjedel av verksamheterna är överlåtna till ett läge där kommunerna tagit över i stort sett alla verksamheter som är möjliga att överlåta. Det är mycket sällan, i förhållande till överlåtelseärenden, som länsstyrelserna återtar tillsynsansvar. När tillsyn återtas verkar det i normala fall ske odramatisk i samförstånd mellan länsstyrelse och kommun Generellt kan konstateras utifrån studiens resultat att skillnaderna mellan länsstyrelserna är betydligt mindre än de stora likheterna. Trots att studien har fokuserat på överlåtelse och återtagande av tillsyn utifrån ett länsperspektiv är det tydligt att graden av överlåtelse avgörs till övervägande del av kommunernas vilja att överta tillsynen. I praktiken kännetecknas tillsynsarbetet av en stor del informella kontakter länsstyrelsen och kommunerna emellan som komplement till organiserade dialogmöten som sker löpande över året samt mer formaliserade kontroller som också används. Den kunskap som länsstyrelsen därigenom erhåller utgör en god grund för överlåtelsebeslut samt utgör även en central del i uppföljningen av överlåtelsebeslut.

Studiens resultat visar att länsstyrelserna redan före den nya miljötillsynsförordningen i praktiken arbetade i stort sett i enlighet med de mer preciserade bestämmelserna som senare introducerades i den nya förordningen. I praktiken verkar alltså den nya förordningens utökade faktorer att ta hänsyn till vid överlåtelse och återtagande av tillsyn vara en anpassning till redan tillämpad praxis. 

We propose a method for visualizing two-dimensional symmetric positive definite tensor fields using the Heat Kernel Signature (HKS). The HKS is derived from the heat kernel and was originally introduced as an isometry invariant shape signature. Each positive definite tensor field defines a Riemannian manifold by considering the tensor field as a Riemannian metric. On this Riemmanian manifold we can apply the definition of the HKS. The resulting scalar quantity is used for the visualization of tensor fields. The HKS is closely related to the Gaussian curvature of the Riemannian manifold and the time parameter of the heat kernel allows a multiscale analysis in a natural way. In this way, the HKS represents field related scale space properties, enabling a level of detail analysis of tensor fields. This makes the HKS an interesting new scalar quantity for tensor fields, which differs significantly from usual tensor invariants like the trace or the determinant. A method for visualization and a numerical realization of the HKS for tensor fields is proposed in this chapter. To validate the approach we apply it to some illustrating simple examples as isolated critical points and to a medical diffusion tensor data set.

The Heat Kernel Signature (HKS) is a scalar quantity which is derived from the heat kernel of a given shape. Due to its robustness, isometry invariance, and multiscale nature, it has been successfully applied in many geometric applications. From a more general point of view, the HKS can be considered as a descriptor of the metric of a Riemannian manifold. Given a symmetric positive definite tensor field we may interpret it as the metric of some Riemannian manifold and thereby apply the HKS to visualize and analyze the given tensor data. In this paper, we propose a generalization of this approach that enables the treatment of indefinite tensor fields, like the stress tensor, by interpreting them as a generator of a positive definite tensor field. To investigate the usefulness of this approach we consider the stress tensor from the two-point-load model example and from a mechanical work piece.